Online sports betting now a billion dollar industry

While nobody knows the exact figure that Americans spend annually on online sports betting, $150 billion is a good one to put your money on.

In Sports betting legalization: Where do we stand right now?, ESPN staff writer David Purdum investigates how the internet has encouraged the growth of betting websites, and how online gambling’s increasing popularity will affect an upcoming Supreme Court ruling.

The Supreme Court’s ruling will revisit the current federal ban on legal sports betting, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), potentially opening up what experts expect could be a $5.8 billion industry.

Our own Jeff Ifrah was invited to weigh in on the potential outcome of the sports betting case:

“The Supreme Court has a hearty appetite to reverse lower court decisions,” said Jeff Ifrah, a prominent Washington, D.C. based attorney and founding member of Ifrah Law PLLC. “The Court will be especially hungry to do so when it hears oral arguments in Christie v. NCAA later this fall. The case offers a full menu of hot button legal issues including states’ rights and state sovereignty. The win will go to Christie and the State of New Jersey.”

Read the full article on ESPN.